Huawei Watch Fit review: a slim yet sleek fitness tracker brimming with features

If you’re looking for an activity tracker that boasts the features of a fully-fledged smartwatch but without the added bulk, then Huawei’s Watch Fit will be sure to tick that very box. 

Touting an AMOLED display, built-in GPS, heart rate monitor, music storage, 50m water resistance and an extensive suite of workout modes (96 to be exact), this fitness tracker has everything a lifestyle-focused smartwatch does in a much more compact design. 

While that all sounds good and well on paper, we’re here to find out just how well that translates to real-world use. So here goes...

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Huawei Watch Fit Review: Price

The Huawei Watch Fit launched in the UK on 16 September 2020 and retails in most retail stores. If you shop around you’ll likely pick it up for under £100.

The fitness tracker comes in a choice of three different colours to suit different personalities: Sakura Pink, Graphite Black or Mint Green.

Find the best Huawei Watch Fit prices below:

Huawei Watch Fit Review: Design And Hardware 

When Huawei first unveiled this portrait-shaped smartwatch, which kinda looks like a stretched out Apple Watch, it was met with some skepticism from the press. However, once it’s on the wrist any doubt fades away. In fact, it’s a super handsome smartwatch that fits the wrist really well, feeling perfectly comfortable for long periods. 

The first thing that stands out is its compact design. Measuring just 10.7mm thick, and with a weight of 21g, it’s much slimmer and lighter than it appears in images and press materials, so we were surprised by how sleek it feels.

There’s just one physical button - a lone flat button on the right side of the watch face’s smooth metal-looking frame and 2.5D curved glass covers the surface, giving the watch a polished premium look.

When it comes to display, it boasts a vibrant and clean-looking 1.64-inch AMOLED screen sporting an impressive  280 x 456 resolution (for comparison’s sake, the Apple Watch is 312 x 390). This is very nicely enveloped with small bezels to give it a premium feel which you’re more likely to find on pricier gadgets. Brightness levels are also decent enough that the display can be seen clearly even in sunlight. 

As you can probably tell, we’re big fans of the Watch Fit’s design. The only issue we had was the watch’s strap. For some reason, the Watch Fit was only just able to fit our wrists, and the strange thing is that our wrists are notoriously slender and usually we have to opt for a smaller band size for wearables when there’s a choice to.

When asked if the pink edition has naturally smaller bands in case they are aimed at younger users or females, we were informed by the PR agency representing Huawei that the straps on all the Watch Fit models are the same length, strangely, with no large option. So it’s worth checking to see the watch will fit before ordering. After we couldn’t find specific measurements online, we took the matter into our own hands and found that the strap circumference on the very last hole measured exactly 20cm. So if your wrist is wider than this, then forget it as there are no third party bands available for the Watch Fit online, despite it having detachable straps. 

Huawei Watch Fit Review: Features And OS

With massive 96 workout modes - from your bog standard running and cycling to more unorthodox activities such as fencing and hula hoop - there are tracking options for just about any workout, no matter how eccentric. The great thing here is that the Watch Fit doesn’t just offer these fitness modes options as a novelty. It provides accurate tracking, displaying vitals in real-time, presented in a well laid-out manner on-screen. 

We think this is mainly due to the long rectangular display, which can more efficiently present information than, say, a circular screen that you’d find on most smartwatches these days. This also helps in making the watch OS more intuitive and thus exceptionally easy to use. 

Saying that, it’s not as fluid as we’d have liked. Scrolling through menus, for example, can often be jittery. This doesn’t affect the performance too much, however, it’s more of a slight grievance and takes away from the overall premium feel of the device. 

What might offer some solace if you do buy this device is that the issue is also present on Huawei's more expensive watches, as such as the Watch GT 2 Pro, so it’s definitely not to do with the Watch Fit being more of a budget model. 

Nevertheless, everything else seems to work pretty well. After completing a workout, for instance, the Watch Fit will provide a detailed summary of your activity right on your wrist, including calories burned and the heart rate zones you hit and if you’ve done a workout that requires it, it also has pretty decent GPS tech.

You will have to sync the device up to your smartphone via Bluetooth though to get a more comprehensive overview of your workout. Still, you're not going to find the stats that you would on a Garmin, for example. But with a £120 RRP, we don’t think anyone would expect it to.

When it comes to daily use, the Watch Fit delivers all the standard smartwatch features that you’d expect. There’s phone notification syncing, access to weather, stress level monitoring and basic health information like steps taken, calories burned, average heart rate, that kind of thing. It’s all very easy to navigate and - as we mentioned before - nicely displayed.

Another important factor when buying a smartwatch is battery life. Nobody wants a device that barely lasts until the end of the day. Thankfully, the Watch Fit follows in the footsteps of its siblings, such as the Huawei GT 2e and the Band 4 Pro, boasting an impressive battery performance.

Huaiwei claims the Watch Fit’s 180 mAh battery should last 10-days on a single charge, which we found is mostly correct. However, this is all dependent on usage. Light usage with continuous heart rate-monitoring enabled and tracking a few workouts per week should garner 9-10 days of use while heavier usag, such as daily GPS-enabled runs with music playback enabled will see this dip to around five days, six if you're lucky. Still, for a watch of this price we think that’s pretty impressive.

Huawei Watch Fit Review: Verdict

The Huawei Watch Fit is an exceptional wearable, especially considering its price. The fact that it can be picked up online for less than £100 now is - quite frankly - amazing. 

Yes, it’s not going to give you everything a fully-fledged smartwatch will give you in terms of tracking data and recovery insights, for example, but the Watch Fit isn’t aimed at users like that. It’s best suited to those who want an upgrade on their fitness band without splashing out on a pricey device with all the bells and whistles. 

The only niggle we have here is with the limited strap size but we are sure third party bands will be available soon enough. All-in-all, a fantastic wearable for the price that’s bound to not disappoint. 

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